The Railwaymen

Resource Type: Image | Posted on 9th December 2011 by Liam Physick

This is the front page of a leaflet issued by the National Union of Railwaymen, commemorating the history of the Union. The NUR was formed in 1913 following the merger of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, the United Kingdom Pointsmen and Signalmen’s Society and the General Railway Workers’ Union. However, it did not represent white-collar workers (represented by the Railway Clerks’ Association) or most drivers and firemen, who preferred to remain members of ASLEF, which refused to join the merger. In 1914, the NUR formed the Triple Alliance with the National Transport Workers’ Federation and the Mining Federation of Great Britain: some believe that had the First World War not broken out, there would have been a general strike organised by the Alliance. In 1919, it co-operated with ASLEF in organising a national railway strike, thwarting plans for a pay cut and achieving a maximum eight-hour working day. The NUR continued to exist until 1990, when it merged with the National Union of Seaman to form the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), which still exists today. The Rocket 150 logo can be seen in the bottom right-hand corner

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Edge Hill Station is the oldest passenger railway station in the World. Some say when Stephenson's Rocket left Edge Hill for Manchester on the 15th September 1830 it marked the beginning of the modern world.